I've painted this scene at Pioneer Park, Berwick more than once but this time I was inspired by Reham Ali’s demo in the Win with Watercolour workshop series. Using more water and painting loosely has been my aim for a long time. Mixed success but I certainly enjoyed working this way. Perhaps I can achieve less of that awful blotchiness next time. More practice is on the cards.
A bit of a treat to see so many beautiful and interesting saris (both in the exhibition and on the guests) at the opening of Offbeat Sari. The event was helped along by a generous spread of the best samosas and chai tea! A speech by someone associated with the show and the Mayor of Casey council lent some importance to the afternoon. Unfortunately, the London-based curator of the show wasn't able to be there in person due to the Middle East war so she did her welcome speech via tele conferencing.
I took my tiny sketchbook, some Tombow markers and a Sailor Fude Pen. The sketch shows women in their finery lining up for the photographer.
The extensive exhibition features the history of the sari and its relevance in India today. It's a touring exhibition by the Design Museum, London. Bunjil Place Gallery, located in the Casey council area of Melbourne, was chosen as the venue due to the large numbers of the Indian diaspora living there. After Bunjil Place Gallery, the show moves to Sydney.
Dress code was sari inspired vibrant colours! I wore a colourful Indian inspired tunic.
Bunjil Place Gallery. Exhibition runs till 30 August 2026. Free entry.
#Hahnemuehle Sketch & Note Booklet A6, #tombow, #sailorfude pen #offbeatsari
I'm just loving drawing with dual tip Tombow Pens!
Here's one done while out sketching with some friends for the one-week-100-people-2026 sketchers' challenge.
I couldn't help including my friend’s orange nails! It was done over some good food at Shack Di Fratello cafe.
This second sketch of my spouse was done at a different occasion at Row Your Boat, a fish restaurant. This time with Tombow pens and my Fude ink pen.
#oneweek100people2026, #sailorfude pen, #tombow, #Hahnemuehle Sketch & Note Booklet A6, #shackdifratello cafe, #rowyourboat.
The sculpture ‘Still Moment’, designed by Zabelski Han Sculptures, is inspired by the natural environment, the spread of feathers in a bird’s wing, the movement of leaves in the wind and people as they journey through Wilson Botanic Park. The sculpture opened on 24 Aug 2007.
What a peaceful setting! The added reward of a nice cool breeze on a 29 degree day influenced the feel of my sketch.
Wilson Botanic Park (opened in 1992) is in the outer Melbourne suburb of Berwick. It was once a basalt (bluestone) quarry and is of great geo heritage importance as it houses the oldest dated eucalypt fossil deposits in Australia.
#fabercastellpittpen, watercolour, #stillman&birn Beta Sketchbook, 7.5”x 7.5”.
It was a different venue for my small group of sketch friends - a rural property! There were so many things to sketch. From sweeping vistas and quaint old sheds to kangaroo poo outside the window. The temperature was just right (such a treat). The sketch group had a really pleasant experience. Our host provided a cup of tea to go with the assortment of biscuits and cakes we had brought.
As my subject for the day, I picked this busy, colourful area near the house with equally busy sketchers.
I've left the page spread unfinished.
#sailorfude pen, watercolour, #stillman&birn Beta Sketchbook, 7.5”x 7.5”.
A yellow cockatoo feather I found has made a nice addition to my collection on our windowsill. Using here a Faber Castell Pitt marker pen, a tool I abandoned some time ago in favour of the more difficult-to-use Fude ink pen. It was an unexpected pleasure to use the old marker pen again today. So easy to use compared to the Fude but of course I don't get the variation in line width. A successful sketch nonetheless.
The blue tile was given to me by an Urban Sketcher from Portugal I met in Singapore in 2014. The other tile was a gift from Ash who bought it in Singapore last year.
Yes, that is a teeny tiny succulent growing in the tiny pot.
Christmas decorations on the High St, Berwick even made The Age newspaper recently. The owner of local restaurant Bodega On High and partners donated $300,000 to give the local community a photo-friendly Christmas hub in the garden strip that runs along the main thoroughfare of the suburb.
I went to sketch the decorations on 2 consecutive days but on the second day, before I could finish, lo and behold the removal people arrived in 2 big trucks and all their moving equipment! Well if you can’t beat them, join them.
#sailorfude pen, watercolour, #stillman&birn Beta Sketchbook, 7.5”x 7.5”.
Sketching sure is my best panacea for anxiety! Sketching on location at A&E, Mulgrave Hospital.
No need for details here except to say J has recovered well after 10 stitches to his head and 10 more for his ear after an altercation with a door frame and some furniture. Just before Christmas is the best time for such shenanigans.
An injured foot is still needing the physio's attention.
#hahnemuehle soft cover sketchbook A6.
I really have been soo tardy in keeping up this blog due to one thing and another. Better late than never so here goes with a short post about our short trip to Surfers Paradise last December.
I won't go into the cancelled flight (after we had checked in), spending the night at brother-in-law's as it was too far to go home. Delays on the replacement flight the next day, our disappointment with Surfers Paradise, delays on the way back...and J coming down with a bad case of flu after we got home. He probably picked up the flu bug from sharing our flight home with a plane load of sleep deprived coughing schoolies!
Surfers Paradise is in the northern state of Queensland where tourists go for sunshine, beach and night life. 40 years since we were last there and this trip didn't make us want to go back again. Thankfully the ALS conference J attended was more successful than he expected. So from that point of view it was a trip worth making.
I'll just share my 2 favourite sketches from the trip.
Firstly, Castaways Cafe. There was a cold wind blowing (even at Surfers!) and the lunch was an uncuttable slop of a nightmare.
Macintosh Island Park was a lovely oasis, away from the high rise of Surfers Paradise. It sits on a canal from the Nerang River. Large shady trees, streams, it’s a bird sanctuary. We had peacocks walking all around us…and lots of ants! A Bush Turkey kept us company.
#sailorfude pen, watercolour, #stillman&birn Beta Sketchbook, 7.5”x 7.5”. #macintoshislandpark
I've come to love drawing people when I'm out somewhere. My aim is to do it with as few lines as possible. Frequent practice is I think making me more proficient. My tools of choice in these situations is just a marker pen as mostly I have to "down tools" as soon as I'm called.
Here's some sketches done in my physio's waiting room, while waiting for a flu shot at a healthcare clinic and during a seniors club's monthly meeting.
This is the first time in a few years that our Trumpet Vine (Campsis radicands) has flowered! This year we delayed our yearly pruning till end of winter instead of late autumn so as to enjoy the showy red flowers. It's strange that it flowered in winter when it's described as a late summer flowering plant. It's one of several plants in our garden which have bloomed at the wrong time this year. Are our plants disorientated due to climate change!?
Here's a photo of the tangle of woody vines against our garden wall.
Recommended pruning in late winter/early spring.
I drew this in July (mid winter) but didn't colour it in until today 2 months later (from a photo reference).
#Sailorfude pen, watercolour, #Stillman&Birn Beta Sketchbook, 8.5 x 5.5".
Two down, two more to go! I promised myself I would sketch this magnificent tree in Pioneers Park, each season. Here is my second (winter) sketch. This was done on the 5th day of spring but it can pass as a winter sketch as the tree is still bare.
Try as I might, I have succeeded in showing its size but not quite succeeded in showing how it towers above me with its magnificent height!
The first sketch I did of this tree (shown below) was done in autumn. I'll have to sketch it again in spring and summer.
I wish I knew its name and age. The local council has not provided any information on either!
#sailorfude pen, watercolour, #stillman&birn Beta Sketchbook, 7.5”x 7.5”.
I got some sketching in during Casey Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance of music inspired by Romeo and Juliet. Tchaikovsky, Berlioz, Prokofiev and Bernstein’s West Side Story plus selected scenes from Romeo and Juliet by actors from OzArt. The sketch of the conductor done in semi darkness was unexpectedly successful. Thank you Casey Philharmonic Orchestra for an enjoyable afternoon!
#tombow marker pens, #handbookjournal 5.5" x 5.5". #bunjilplace #caseyphilharmonicorchestra
Sketching at Bunjil Place at the installation called "Lost" (after visiting the inspiring exhibition "Floribunda" at Bunjil Gallery).
We stayed indoors for the warmth, tea and my ginormous lemon poppy seed muffin (which I shared with my spouse) but outside the building would have provided a good sketch opportunity too!
The artist of the installation is Amanda Parer. Her featured monumental flora (made out of some thin light material and inflated) are of either extinct or endangered botanical species from around the world. Their size highlights their beauty and wonder that has been Lost. It was fun watching kids crawling on the soft installations and enjoying the school holidays.
#sailorfude pen, watercolour, #hahnemuehle Soft Cover A6. #bunjilplace
These are my last sketches from Brisbane, Queensland. After lunch at Longtime Yum Char (what a treat!), J wanted a coffee...plus a small cake. Not this HUGE apple crumble served with whipped cream AND icecream! I was happy to help as it was so good, fresh out of the oven.
I managed a sketch of the Neville Bonner Bridge just before we left for the airport the next day. It is Brisbane's newest over-river connection between Southbank and the CBD. Completed in Feb 2023 to improve connectivity ahead of the 2032 Olympic Games.
I hope we will be back again soon!
#Sailorfude pen, watercolour, #FaberCastellPittPen, #Stillman&Birn Zeta Sketchbook, 8.5 x 5.5".
I’m very happy with this page of people in King George Square, Brisbane! A wedding party was there with many guests taking photos of each other, standing to pose just long enough for me to sketch them. The bride had taken herself off to the side.
I'm so glad I added the strange bird which was weaving its way from crumb to crumb. It’s an Australian White Ibis. Originally a wading bird widespread over most of Australia, it has established itself in urban areas. Due to its fondness for rummaging in rubbish bins it has become known as the tip turkey or bin chicken!
Finally we understand the meaning of this keychain. A lovely gift from a Brisbane friend. Thank you!
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At the end of June we spent a few days in Brisbane, Queensland. Here's a few sketches I did during a fast and furious trip. J attended a conference, we had a family bereavement and there were many family and friends to catch up with.
My first sketch...everyone has to draw Queen St Mall!
Here's one from an excellent location – looking down into Queen’s Gardens. I didn’t include the river or bridges behind so the view is incomplete. This was done over 2 sessions on different days. I'm so out of practice with this sort of view, it felt like hard work.
I forgot to take a photo until the sun had dropped so low on the second day due to interruptions as I was with a couple of sketchers one of whom I had not seen for 12 years.
J and I found Ryan’s on the Park Cafe which was an ideal location for sketching Queen’s Gardens from ground level. I captured a couple of people taking photos (there were many). The man was posing in front of a statue of Queen Victoria. It was on the left just out of view.
#Sailorfude pen, watercolour, #Stillman&Birn Zeta Sketchbook, 8.5 x 5.5".
